Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of the company on Monday, handing his chief executive title to Andy Jassy.

In February, Amazon announced that Bezos would transition from CEO to executive chair, saying he wanted to spend more time on his other ventures, including the Washington Post, space company Blue Origin, and philanthropy, reported CNN.

Bezos will still have a heavy influence at the company as he’ll be its largest individual shareholder, a longtime mentor to the incoming CEO and he will still be the head of the board.

As of last month, Bezos owned 51.2 million shares – or around 10 percent – of Amazon common stock, much more than the next largest shareholder Vanguard Group, which holds around 6.5 percent.

That means if a shareholder initiative seeks to make a major change at the company, Bezos’ voting power could give him some sway in the outcome, said Bailey.

“He’ll likely still stay involved, though no longer focusing on the day-to-day and instead able to focus on company-wide initiatives and new products and services,” said Daniel Elman, global technology analyst at market research firm Nucleus Research. “His skills for cutting through noise identifying high-value opportunities cannot be overstated … so it would make sense for Amazon to free him from the operational grind to maximize those areas.”

The company has also faced recent criticism over its treatment of warehouse workers, something Bezos has pledged to address as executive chair.

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